Westchester Black man shot by cops in 2011 most likely wasn’t holding a knife when he was killed

In November 2011, a 68-year-old mentally ill White Plains black man, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. was shot and killed by officers at his home when a confrontation ensued after the authorities responded to the victim’s medical alert system. Now, a new evidence contradicts police reports of the incident. What are the details of the newly discovered evidence? Here are the carefully collected details from these sources:

100 Feed

Newly discovered DNA results suggest a 68-year-old mentally-ill White Plains man shot to death by cops in 2011 probably wasn’t holding a knife when police opened fire, lawyers for his family said.

The case bears striking parallels to the death of 66-year-old Deborah Danner, a diagnosed schizophrenic shot by police in her Bronx apartment on Oct. 18.

The cops claim the black man was having a psychotic episode when he lunged at them with a knife after they shot him with beanbag rounds to subdue him. But Kenneth Chamberlain Jr.’s lawyers say they believe he was terrified of the police and was lying on the floor when he was shot.

Chamberlain’s family has filed a $21 million wrongful death suit against the city of White Plains in federal court. The trial begins next month.

Tests on the knife show that Chamberlain Sr.’s blood was on the blade. But it’s extremely unlikely the DNA found on the handle belonged to him, the lawyers said. The lawyers said they didn’t learn the tests existed until they were revealed in a meeting about 10 days ago with the county medical examiner.

“We learned of it almost literally on the eve of trial,” said Chamberlain Jr.’s attorney Debra Cohen of the law firm Newman Ferrara.

White Plains officials and their lawyers did not return calls for comment. Carelli’s lawyer Andrew Quinn declined to comment. See more

New York Daily News

A source familiar with their case said the defense was also not aware of the DNA tests and did not intentionally withhold them. The source disputed that the test shows the DNA on the handle was not Chamberlain’s.

Meanwhile, autopsy photos show Chamberlain was shot in the back with a beanbag round, designed to stun people and knock them down without killing them. Cops fired four beanbags at him. The first hit him in the left thigh, Cohen said. The second and third hit him in the chest, the fourth hit him in the back.

I could get really hood and talk about innocent veterans being killed by police. In their own homes. Like Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.

“I’m telling you I’m OK, I’m telling you I’m OK,” the black man yells to the officers banging on his door, according to a recording of the encounter.

“I don’t give a f—, n—–,” an unidentified officer then shouts.

A judge on Monday will hear motions by the city seeking to keep a broad range of evidence from the jury, including autopsy photos and the audio recordings of the confrontation. See more

Yet another mentally ill black man suffers the cruel fate of dying at the hands of police officers. Officers have proven time and time again that they are poorly trained in handling mentally ill people. The officers involved in the shooting must face justice, as it seems they also lied in their reports claiming the victim was armed.